we are scc: somerset campus • laurel campus • casey center • … · dent will make a...

By Ray HunterThe search is on for the next

president and CEO of SCC. A ten-person presidential

screening committee has been formed to find someone with the right qualities to lead SCC into the

future.Once selected, the new presi-

dent will make a recommendation concerning the provost position, currently being filled by Dr. Clint Hayes on an interim basis follow-ing Dr. Tony Honeycutt’s recent

retirement.Cindy Clouse, Chief Institu-

tional Advancement Officer, said that she and Janis Hatfield, Ex-ecutive Administrative Assistant, to outgoing president Dr. Jo Mar-shall, are working to facilitate the

process. “Some people are involved in

the entire process,” Clouse said. “But we won’t know who the final candidates are until they are pub-licly announced by the committee on April 12th.”

Charlene Harris, the SCC Board of Directors Chair, is chairing the screening committee, which is comprised of five staff and faculty representatives and five members

By Alyson BranscumNo longer will students see Dr.

Tony Honeycutt around campus in his coat and tie or hear his infamous Mississippi drawl. Honeycutt, SCC’s provost since 2003, has retired.

“I really just feel like it’s time,” Honeycutt said on January 31, his last day on the job. “It is something I have been thinking about.”

Honeycutt informed SCC’s fac-ulty and staff of his decision to step down via email on January 12. His announcement came one week after SCC President Dr. Jo Marshall an-nounced her own retirement, effective at the end of the semester.

Honeycutt said that he and Dr. Marshall had been discussing their retirements over the last year or two.

“We both feel like it is time for a change,” Honeycutt said.

Honeycutt never thought he would be an administrator when he started

We are SCC: Somerset Campus • Laurel Campus • Casey Center • Clinton Center • McCreary Center • Russell Center

Should collegesbe tuition free?

— PAGE 5 —

TransferTips

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Early Alert’s goalis helping students

— PAGE 4 —

THE BRIDGE

A Student Publication For Somerset Community College • For The Students, By The Students

SCC News & Viewpoints Since 2000 • February 2018 • Volume 18, Number 4

— INSIDE THIS ISSUE — SCC presidential search schedule-Page 2 ‘Ray’s Rave Reviews’ of the Oscars-1

Continued on Page 9

Continued on Page 9Continued on Page 3

Dr. Jo Marshall to retire as SCC President/CEO

National search process should conclude with a new president in place by July 1

Provost sayshe leaves SCC‘with no regrets’

CHANGING MAJORSDr. Tony Honeycutt, right, speaks at a retirement

reception in his honor as SCC President Dr. Jo Marshall looks on. Honeycutt served as provost at the college for nearly 15 years.

Goodbye to SCC...

Photo by Emily Shafer

Just days after returning from a three-month sabbatical, SCC President and CEO Dr. Jo Marshall surprised the campus community by announcing her impending retirement, effective June 30.

Marshall’s announcement came at a special-called meeting of SCC’s faculty and staff on January 5.

Marshall had been on sabbatical since October, using the break to mentor the newest presidents in KCTCS and to spend time with her five grandchildren.

“My decision to retire has not been an easy one; however, I rest assured that SCC will continue to grow and flour-ish as it has done for the past 53 years,” she is quoted as saying in an SCC press release.

Marshall was hired as SCC’s pres-ident and CEO in 2000, replacing Dr. Rollin Watson. Her first few years on the job were eventful.

“My tenure at SCC started with a

Throughout my time at SCC, I have had the privilege of interacting with both Dr. Jo Marshall and Dr. Tony Honeycutt on multiple occasions in my work as a student am-bassador, a peer mentor, and now as managing editor of The Bridge.

Anyone can tell that each of them love speaking with students and seeing students suc-ceed. SCC will greatly miss the leadership of both Dr. Marshall and Dr. Honeycutt. The next president and provost have big shoes to fill.

While I am not an educator, I am a proud SCC student, and I want to see SCC continue to prosper and grow. With that goal in mind, I have a few sugges-tions for the next pair of leaders.

Get to know the student body. For a community college in rural Kentucky, the student population is diverse. There are students of all ages, races, and socioeco-nomic statuses. Our current leaders were always pro-student, and they enjoyed seeing students succeed.

Build relationships with and among faculty and staff. SCC’s faculty and staff are like a family. It will create a better learn-ing environment for the students when all faculty and staff are working together.

Find ways to boost enrollment. Enroll-ment for SCC is on the decline. In 2010, it was at an all-time high of 10 thousand students, but it keeps declining, and we now have fewer than half as many students.

When I was in high school, I thought SCC was too small, and there were no programs or organizations that interested me. Now that I am an SCC student, I realize that others can benefit from the programs and instruc-tors SCC has to offer.

Maintain a great working relationship with four-year colleges. SCC allows for a great foundation for students to get their general education classes. Many students then transfer to a four-year college to further their education.

Lead by example. Successful leaders model a positive attitude and behavior for their faculty, staff, and students to see.

Have high expectations for the faculty, staff, and students of the college. SCC is the best community college in all the land, after all, and we should never settle for “good enough.”

Focus on continuously improving the education for current and future SCC stu-dents. SCC can always improve the quality of education it provides to students rather it be new tutoring services or offering new

programs of study. Be conscientious when making deci-

sions for the college. Each decision not only affects current faculty, staff, and students but

the futures ones too. Have passion. Any time leaders are

not passionate about what they are doing, it shows through in their work. Be excited about higher education!

Be ethical. SCC is a fantastic place, and it needs to be represented with integrity.

Understand that this is the commu-nity’s college. The community is involved with the college, and it is important for the new leaders to uphold the ties with the community.

While this is my last semester at SCC, I am thankful the college has been led by Dr. Marshall and Dr. Honeycutt during my time here. I have invested so much of myself in this college, I want to see it grow and pros-per in the years to come. The future adminis-trators have a tough act to follow, but I know the right leaders will take the positions.

February 2018

COMMENTS, OPINIONS & NEWS

A Student Publication for Somerset Community College“The Bridge” is distributed to all SCC locations and is available

on the web at SCC’s website: somerset.kctcs.edu under Current Students/Student Life

THE BRIDGE STAFFManaging Editor: Alyson Branscum

Staff: McKenzie Mullins and Ray HunterGraphic Design: Marlene Larkins

THE BRIDGEFor The Students, By The Students! — February 2018 • Volume 18 • Number 4 — Next issue April 1, 2018

Faculty Advisors:Jeff Harris - Content • Stuart Simpson - Production

THE BRIDGE

Quote of the month... by McKenzie MullinsA few suggestionsfor the next leaders

of our college

Do you have a favorite quote that you’d like to sharewith readers of The Bridge? If so, send it to us at

[email protected] selected, McKenzie will feature your quote in the next issue.

PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH TIMELINE

ByAlyson

BranscumManaging Editor

Feb. 14 - March 15: Position announced, national search underway.March 26: Candidates selected to advance to next stage of process.April 4: The 8-to-10 semifinalists submit video presentations and respond

to questions provided by KCTCS.April 11: Three finalists are selected and invited to interview on campus.April 12: Finalists for the positon are announced to the community.April 23-24: Onsite interviews with the candidates are conducted.April 24: College Board and KCTCS President meet to make final decision.July 1: SCC’s new college president takes office.

successful SACS accreditation for the college and was quickly fol-lowed by the unification of Somer-set Community College, Somerset Technical College and Laurel Tech-nical College in 2003,” Marshall said.

Along with the consolidation with STC and LTC, SCC has seen the addition of seven new buildings across the college’s two campuses and four centers under Marshall’s leadership.

With the expansion, SCC saw an increase in enrollment during the first half of Marshall’s tenure, crossing the ten-thousand-student threshold in 2011. In the years since, however, SCC has seen its enrollment decline steadily. Fewer than half as many students are en-rolled today.

SCC has also experienced nu-merous cuts in state funding in re-cent years.

“The past 18 years have not al-ways been easy,” Marshall said. “We have worked hard to meet the needs of the communities we serve. We have all creatively managed the changes that occur in higher educa-tion with great resound, and, most importantly, we have all remained compassionately committed to our students.”

Marshall, who holds a doctoral degree from the University of Al-abama in English/Administration of Higher Education, is currently guiding SCC through another SACS re-accreditation.

“I’ve loved SCC and this com-munity since I first called it home,” Marshall said. “I look forward to finishing out the academic year at SCC and watching the great things the college accomplishes in the future.”

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February 2018 THE BRIDGE

By McKenzie Mullins Most SCC students pursuing a bachelor’s degree

must make plans to attend a four-year college. Trans-ferring from a community college to a university can be a big step, introducing students to new environ-ments, new set of rules, and new groups of people.

“I’m concerned about the money, the environment I’ll be going into, the group of people that you’ll be around, and the work load that will be put on transfer students,” student Madison Davis said.

Academic advisor Shawn Anderson and Transfer Center coordinator James Taylor share advice to make the transition easier.

Both say that visiting a potential college gives stu-dents a better idea of what life will be like if they de-cide to attend that school.

“I would not do anything without making an actual visit to the campus,” Anderson said.

When visiting colleges, students not only will get to see the campus, but they will see the city, housing, and classrooms, and can even try the food.

Most transfer institutions are happy to set up visits for students during which they will get a tour of the campus and talk to professors and students currently in their program of interest, Taylor said.

Students might even be able to shadow a class, An-derson said.

Both academic advising and the Transfer Center can provide students information on colleges they’re interested in and connect them with transfer reps, Tay-lor said.

Lily Lucas, SCC student, said she was concerned about transferring college credits.

“I have to be careful when scheduling classes be-cause they will say you need it for your major, but it won’t count when you transfer,” she said.

Representatives interact with students on campus,

provide updated information on scholarships, and can even assist students each semester on classes to take.

Currently, representatives from both EKU and Lindsey Wilson keep regular hours in the SCC’s Transfer Center.

Before students sit down and talk with a represen-tative, they should make a list of questions of things like financial aid or residential life, Taylor said.

“The more questions you ask the better prepared you’re gonna be,” he said.

If students are prepared when transferring to a new school, it’s going to make the transition so much easier.

Students interested in scholarships for a transfer institution can check out the Transfer Center webpage on SCC’s website.

“We kind of revamped the website a little bit,” Tay-lor said, “We’ve been working on trying to make it a bit more user friendly.”

Under the Transfer Center webpage students can go to “Four-Year College,” click on an institution, and the link will take them to the school’s website where they can get financial aid information.

“Each college will have different deadlines for scholarships, so definitely be aware of the deadline,” Anderson said.

A lot of colleges have programs that waive the ap-plication fee for transfer students, she said.

The University of Kentucky has Transfer Tuesdays, so every Tuesday students can apply online for free.

Students like Sam Penney don’t have any concerns about transferring colleges.

“This will be my second time transferring,” she said.

If students have questions or concerns about trans-ferring schools, they should make an appointment with their advisor or stop by the Transfer Center.

Dr. Jo MarshallContinued from Page 1

A bachelor’s degree after SCCTransfer Center offers assistance to students seeking...

Photo by McKenzie Mullins

Shawn Anderson, academic advisor, and James Taylor,

Transfer Center coordinator, work to make transferring to a four-year university easier

for SCC students.On the Somerset Campus, the center is located in the

Harold Rogers Student Commons, Room 210.

The center is located in Bulding 3, Room 121 on the

Laurel Campus.

A place to conferbefore transfer

February 2018THE BRIDGE

By Alyson Branscum Early Alert, a recently launched program

at SCC, is designed to help students succeed both inside and outside the classroom.

The grant-funded program, which began in October, features a team of “coaches” whose mission is to improve retention by helping students overcome a wide range of obstacles.

When instructors raise flags in Starfish, communication software that also tracks stu-dent performance, the Early Alert coaches also get a notification. The coach’s job is to reach out to the student to see what he or she is struggling with.

Early Alert is not solely academic. Some-times students are struggling with their schoolwork because they have problems like car trouble or a lack of child care while they are at school.

According to Early Alert Manager Ra-chel Stull, the program’s coaches are willing to help students find resources for tutoring, childcare, transportation, housing, mental health services, disability services, and any

other barriers that may affect their perfor-mance in their courses.

“We work with any student who needs help,” Stull said.

Students are encouraged to walk into the

Early Alert offices if they have a problem. An Early Alert coach is always in the office from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Stull said.

Pam Dalton, Meghann Holmes, Dawn Dal-ton, and Lisa Caudill are the four Early Alert coaches on SCC’s Somerset Campus. Their office is located in Room 102G in Stoner Hall.

Lisa Rutherford and Patience Tucker are the two Early Alert coaches on SCC’s Laurel Campus. They are located in Room 229 in Building #2.

“It can be intimidating to go into an office and talk to someone you don’t know about is-sues that may be personal to you,” Stull said. “The coaches are truly here to help, and that is all they want to do.”

In addition to walking into the office, stu-dents can also send an email requesting as-sistance to [email protected] and will receive a response quickly, Stull said.

There is a hotline student can call (606-451-6929), and a coach will be in contact. Student can reach out at any time, and all the information they give to the coaches will re-main confidential.

“We rely on each other a lot,” Caudill said. “If we don’t know of a resource, we will

try and find it for our students.” Holmes had a student who was having car

trouble last semester, and she was able to get the student get in touch with SCC’s automo-tive department. The student was able to pur-chase the parts, and the automotive depart-ment fixed the car at a low price.

“Students come in with a broad range of issues,” Dawn Dalton said. “[We do] what-ever we can to keep them [in college].”

The Early Alert coaches said students may be doing well in school, but they have trouble balancing their obligations at work or home.

“Sometimes I think it’s about balancing school and life expectations,” Stull said. “We find a lot of times what gets in the way are all the obligations at home.”

Early Alert coaches are even starting to help future SCC students. They plan to visit high schools in the area SCC serves, and they will help high school seniors apply to SCC and fill out the FASFA.

“The door is always open,” Dawn Dalton said. “Sometimes you just need to offer a helping hand.”

Helping students succeedEarly Alert program provides assistance inside and outside the classroom

“It can be intimidating to go into an office and talk to someone you don’t know about issues that may be

personal to you. The coaches are truly here to help, and that is all they want to do.”

—Rachel Stull, Early Alert manager

Offering ahelping hand...Pictured, left to right, is SCC’sEarly Alert team: Pam Dalton,Lisa Caudill,Lisa Rutherford, Dawn Dalton, Meghann Holmes, Patience Taylor,and Rachel Stull,program manager.


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Should college be tuition-free for all Kentucky students?By McKenzie Mullins

Several states and cities around the country have estab-lished, or are considering, programs for tuition-free college.

Rhode Island, Tennessee, New York, Oregon, and Louisi-ana are a few states that have tuition-free colleges. On Janu-ary 30, West Virginia became the latest, passing legislation to provide tuition-free college at the two-year level for in-state students.

In most states, free tuition is given in the form of a “last-dollar” scholarship that covers the remaining cost of tuition after other needs-based grants have been used. Some plans have an income cap and others are limited to recent high school graduates.

According to CNN Money, the push for free tuition gained momentum in 2015, when President Obama proposed making community college free nationwide. By that time, Tennessee had already approved the Tennessee Promise Scholarship, which made community college free for students graduating high school that year. The state is now offering the program to all students, including adults, if they do not already have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

SCC student Ashley Evans attended a tuition-free college in Tennessee.

“Many residents from Tennessee will go ahead and go to college in state,” Evans said.

Currently, Kentucky does not have a “last-dollar” program for all students, though the state does offer tuition help for students going into high-demand areas.

In 2016, Governor Matt Bevin’s office created the Work Ready Scholarship Program through an Executive Order, which states that KHEAA will pay for thirty-two hours of col-lege credit for programs that are in five of the fastest growing industries in the commonwealth: advanced manufacturing, business and IT, construction, healthcare, and transportation/

logistics.But should all two-year students in Kentucky have free

tuition?“I think it’d be great for our community colleges,” said

Patrick Mayer, SCC’s Director of Financial Aid. Student Malachi Maggard agrees. “It can be hard on families who do not receive help to send

themselves or their children to college due to the cost,” he said, “especially when they have to maybe give up working as much as they could to go to school, which already reduces their income level.”

Taxpayers pay the costs in most of the states that offer free tuition, but Tennessee’s program is funded by the state lottery.

If Governor Bevin and the State Legislature decided to put free community college in the budget, SCC could make that change quickly, Mayer said.

Many students do not think Governor Bevin will push for tuition-free community college.

“Education doesn’t seem as important to the state right now,” said Rachel Turner.

Sandra David thinks the issue lies within Kentucky being a commonwealth.

“They pretty much make up their own laws here,” she said. Governor Bevin’s goal is to bring industries to Kentucky,

and he needs qualified people to take those jobs, hence the Work Ready scholarship program, Mayer said.

“I don’t think he would be as willing to open the program up to everything,” he said.


By Alyson Branscum Dino Melgoza is nearing the end of his ed-

ucation at SCC, and it has been a long time in coming. Getting his degree has always been a challenge to him, and it started with the nega-tivity of a former teacher.

Melgoza originally decided to pursue his education at a junior college in Texas in 1981. In the back of his mind he has always had neg-ative thoughts that academic success was out of his reach. Melgoza says he procrastinated due to some personal issues, and he felt like he could not finish his degree.

“A teacher once told me a long time ago that I was stupid,” Melgoza said. “I think that stuck in my head because I hadn’t realized that tape had been playing in my head, so I decided to challenge that.”

Melgoza then decided to go to the Marines to challenge the negative remark that had al-ways been haunting him. He chose the Marines in part because his father had been a Marine.

“I wanted to understand him a little better,” Melgoza said. “It was a cool experience but not something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

After his time in the Marines, Melgoza and his family moved to San Francisco, California so that his wife could attend culinary school. He went to work for the U.S. Postal Service.

In 1999, Melgoza and his family moved to Somerset. His family was in Texas, and his wife’s family was from Ohio.

“We decided we needed to be near family,” he said.

Melgoza did not like Somerset at first; he often felt like he was being stereotyped by others.

“When I first got out here, I had hair that went to the middle of my back,” he said. “I felt like managers would follow me around Wal-Mart, but Somerset is a lot safer and less pol-luted than where we lived before.”

He grew to love Somerset, and he decided to enroll at SCC to finally pursue his education in the spring of 2013.

During his time here at SCC, Melgoza has become the president of the Multicultural Club and SGA coordinator.

“He has worked tirelessly planning and car-rying out various exciting ideas to bring vari-ous cultures to our campus,” said Elaine Wil-son, SCC’s Director of Cultural Diversity and Multicultural Club Sponsor.

Wilson and Melgoza have worked together to host numerous events on campus including SCC’s International Festival, Day of the Dead Celebration, and the Autism Awareness event each April.

Melgoza has for several years shown com-passion for those who are unable to help them-selves, Wilson says.

“I do feel compassion for this school,” he said. “It has so much more to give to the com-munity. If I didn’t care about it, I wouldn’t be as committed to it.”

Melgoza appreciated the close-knit commu-nity here at SCC. He says it is hard to find this type of welcoming environment at a university.

“The teachers you have here, you can’t get that anywhere else,” he said. “The community college is a community.”

SCC has exposed Melgoza to his culture. He has learned about holidays and traditions from his Hispanic heritage like Day of the Dead.

“Coming to this campus has made me more aware of my culture. I came here disconnected to my culture,” Melgoza said. “My dad thought it would be best for us to be prosperous in this environment. In his time, being Hispanic or too Hispanic was a deficit. He raised us to be non-Hispanic.”

Decades removed from his teacher labeling him “stupid,” Melgoza is proving her wrong. He will graduate with his Associates in Arts this spring.

“It’s going to be weird to walk away from here, but I am going to still stay connected,” he said. “To be honest, I am surprised I got as far as I did. My destiny will become clear to me as I continue my education.”

Melgoza plans on pursuing a four-year de-gree in Human Services. His goal is to work with groups of people to improve the envi-ronment and make the city or county a better place.

“I hope to move around and see where it takes me. It’ll be like a new chapter in my life; I hope to keep creating new chapters in my life,” he said. “I want to keep challenging myself until I am no longer here. I don’t want to stop.”

As a non-traditional student himself, Mel-goza encourages people to do what they are passionate about and to not let age be an obstacle.

“Get involved and never be afraid to go af-ter your dream,” he said.

“It’s going to be weird to walk away from here, but I am going to still stay

connected. To be honest, I am surprised I got as far as I did. My destiny will become

clear to me as I continue my education.”—Dino Melgoza

37-year journey ending happily for Melgoza

A StudentFor All Seasons

Dino Melgoza will miss SCC, but plans to stay in touch.Photo by Alyson Branscum

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By Alyson Branscum The Lake Cumberland Slaves

Memorial Association (LCSMA) has been working to fund a planned slave memorial on SCC’s Somer-set Campus. The artwork will be displayed outside the north end of Meece Hall.

The purpose of the metal sculp-ture is to memorialize unmarked slave graves across Pulaski and sur-rounding counties.

The LCSMA has entered a con-tract with artist Dr. Ayokunle Odel-eye, the senior professor of art at Kennesaw State University. He was chosen from among 100 artists to design the slave memorial.

The memorial is set to be complete by March of 2019. The LCSMA is also seeking to build a small courtyard nearby so peo-ple can admire the memorial and remember those slaves who died without proper attribution.

The LLCSMA is a non-profit and donations are tax deductible. All funds donated go directly to the creation of the permanent artwork.

Contributibutions may be made at the group’s Go Fund Me ad-dress: gofundme.com/lake-cumber-land-slaves-memorial or by check payable to the Lake Cumberland Slaves Memorial, P.O. Box 600, Somerset, KY 42502.

At right is a rendering by local artist C. J. Bloomer of how the memorial would look on SCC’s Somerset Campus.

Group continues to raisefunds for slaves memorial

To be located on SCC’s Somerset Campus

The proposed Lake

Cumberland Slaves

Memorial sculpture

was designed by artist Dr.

Ayokunle Odeleye.

teaching. He began his career as an educator in 1969. Honeycutt taught in a drafting and design technology program at Mississippi Delta Com-munity College (MDCC).

In 1993, Honeycutt transitioned to administration by becoming Dean of Career and Workforce Ed-ucation at MDCC.

“I got talked into going into ad-ministration at the time,” Honey-cutt said. “[But] I enjoy it.”

After ten years in the position at MDCC, he moved from Moorhead, Mississippi to Somerset to become SCC’s provost.

During his time as an adminis-trator, Honeycutt has faced many challenges, such as getting accli-mated at SCC, but he is proud of the college and the work he has done. He leaves with no regrets.

“A lot of things turned out how I hoped,” he said. “Our faculty and staff have the best interest of stu-dents, and I think the college is well represented in the community.”

Honeycutt says he will miss the interaction with students. He enjoys working with students in SCC’s or-ganizations and programs.

“We have some strong pro-grams,” he said. “I just like meeting and talking with students.”

Honeycutt is proud of the ef-ficiency regarding the academic schedule. The goal, he said, is to better accommodate non-traditional students so that they can take the classes they need when it is conve-nient for them.

“Our job is to position the col-lege in the best way we can,” he said. “Some things like funding and enrollment are out of our control.”

Trustworthiness and integrity are two qualities Honeycutt feels people in a leadership role should possess. Honeycutt feels the admin-istration at SCC has built a great re-lationship with faculty and staff.

“When decisions are made, it may not be a decision everybody is happy with,” he said. “[But] it is important for people to understand that in your mind it does make sense.”

Honeycutt says trust can be developed over time, but it comes from consistency and listening to people.

“You have to listen to what the issues are and try to work with them,” Honeycutt said.

Honeycutt feels like the peo-ple who are going to move into the position of SCC’s president or provost need to evaluate the college. They need to understand SCC’s programs, student body, and community.

“I would hope that that person,

whoever those people are, would take a little bit of time to get a feel for the college,” he said. “I’m sure there are changes that will be made or changes they think need to be made.”

Honeycutt also feels new lead-ers must work with the community too.

“Community colleges really are the community’s college,” Honey-cutt said. “A lot of people in this area relate to this college and how it serves this area.”

Honeycutt and his wife did not know they would be living in Ken-tucky fifteen years ago, but they do plan to stay here for the foreseeable future, he said. They always felt welcome here. Honeycutt plans to enjoy his time off and visit his chil-dren and grandchildren.

“We’ll visit the grandkids like everybody else says they are going to do,” he said. “Though our grand-kids are older, so they may not want to visit with us.”

Honeycutt does not plan on tak-ing another administrative position, but he plans to do some consulting with other educational institutions on a part-time basis.

Honeycutt advises students to continue their education. Numer-ous studies have indicated the more post-secondary education or train-ing people have, the more money they will make in their lifetime.

“Money isn’t going to make you happy, but we relate money to standard of living,” he said. “It is important for you in your lifetime to do the things that you want to do. Most of the time that is going to come about from education.”

Honeycutt says that people do

not have to be eighteen years old to continue education. It does not matter if they are thirty years old, or thirty-five years old, or older.

“My advice is for students to get as much education as you can,” Honeycutt said. “Continue to learn and look for new opportunities in your life.”


of the local community. The SCC representatives are

Linda Ballard, Nursing Program Coordinator; Patrick Mayer, Di-rector of Financial Aid; Marsha Phelps, Senior Administrative As-sistant; Nick Tomlinson, Program Coordinator; and Dr. Michael Go-leman, Associate Professor of His-tory and Faculty Chair.

The community members in-clude Bill Turpen, Kyle Lively, Martin Hatfield, Chuck Coldiron, and Lois McWhorter, who happens to be a former member of SCC’s faculty, having retired at the end of the fall 2017 semester.

Dr. Preston Pulliams, President of Gold Hill Associates, will act as a search consultant and will also help in the lengthy and challenging selection process.

The screening committee, the college leadership team, the board

of directors, and the foundation board conducted two workshops on January 30, where they gathered in-formation to create a survey of the most desirable characteristics and skills for the new president of SCC.

That survey was then sent to all faculty and staff so that they could provide input on the official posi-tion statement.

Dr. Goleman said that “the sur-vey is a list of qualities to be ranked in order of importance and rele-vance to SCC.”

Some of the items on the survey are a commitment to provide pro-grams for industries, the ability to strengthen partnerships with other schools (primarily high schools) and a dedication to student success and achievement.

Dr. Pulliams will use the posi-tion statement to recruit individuals from across the country. Although the hunt for a new President is na-tionwide, qualified employees at SCC are encouraged to apply as

well. Five of the last eleven searches

for presidents at KCTCS schools have resulted in internal hiring.

The search could last up to five months, but the committee hopes to have three finalists selected for in-terviews by April 12th. According to Clouse, it is in the best interest of the college to have a final rec-ommendation before Dr. Marshall’s departure on June 30.

SCC has not undergone such an extensive transition in leader-ship since Dr. Marshall took over as president 18 years ago. How-ever, not many students are aware of the changes. Those that do have strong opinions about who should be selected.

Marvin Crawford, a freshman at the Somerset campus, said that he hopes the new president is someone that has worked in community col-leges before.

“I think it should be someone that is ambitious and willing to

learn,” he said. “I hope it means that the quality of education contin-ues to grow.”

Samantha Moody takes primar-ily online courses, but she does have a hybrid writing course at SCC on Mondays. She was unaware of the upcoming changes and fears that the lack of communication on such issues may become a problem for students.

“It’s scary,” she said.Moody hopes that the new pres-

ident will be able to provide con-sistency and generate new ideas for the college to thrive.

Taylor Stachulski, a first-year student, said, “I want someone with integrity, who cares about the stu-dents and the college, like I do.”

Stachulski went on to say, “Ide-ally [the next president] would be someone from here, with experi-ence with community colleges, but ultimately it’s more important that they’re comfortable with the col-lege atmosphere.”

Provost leaves SCCContinued from Page 1

Photo by Emily Shafer

SCC student Marvin Crawford says he hopes the new presi-dent has experience working in community colleges.

Dr. Tony Honeycutt shares a laugh with Accreditation Coordina-tor Lynn Cunningham at his retirement celebration. Honeycutt, SCC’s provost since 2003, retired at the end of January.

Presidential searchContinued from Page 1

What’s on the mind of ...

SCC Spotlight

KaitlynKuopu

AustinBallou

What is your favorite class this semester?

What is your favorite love song?

What is your favorite book?

DylanRobison

Human AnatomyBIO 137 and

BIO 139

LemonTreeby

Peter, Paul& Mary

Gregorthe

Overlanderby

SuzanneCollins

English 102

Readyor Not

byFugees

TheHungerGames

bySuzanneCollins

Communications COM 181

Runby

George Strait

To Kill AMockingbird

byHarper

Lee


And the Oscar (wrongly) went to…Oscar season is upon us again.

Every spring, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) tells the world who made the best movie of the year.

And we are just supposed to believe them.

The truth is, sometimes the Academy gets it wrong. And not just when a presenter announces the wrong name, like in 2017. When the Academy, in their infinite wisdom, randomly (or purposefully) gifts a lesser film with the Best Picture Award, that is robbery.

It has happened more than once, and it will probably happen again, that film lovers are left confused and upset by the Academy’s inter-pretation of “best.”

A blatant and notorious exam-ple occurred in 1998, when the Oscar for Best Motion Picture went to Shakespeare In Love. Directed by John Madden and featuring Oscar-winning perfor-mances by Gwyneth Paltrow and Dame Judi Dench, it’s a whimsical and light-hearted romantic comedy that shows viewers what it might have been like to love the greatest writer of all time.

Joseph Fiennes plays a young William Shakespeare, an up-and-coming playwright, searching for the inspiration and connection to his characters that he needs to compete with the more popular Christopher Marlowe, played by Rupert Everett. The dialogue is witty and irreverent, and the humor is contemporary. It’s an easy and playful movie to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

It’s a fine film, but the true cinematic masterpiece that year was Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. Instantly regarded as a classic, this film takes viewers on a relentless journey of hope and self-sacri-fice that makes Shakespeare

In Love look like a daytime soap opera in comparison. With a powerhouse performance by Tom Hanks as Captain John Miller and supported by an ensemble of dynamic actors including Matt Damon, Giovanni Ribisi, and Tom Sizemore, this story opens with one of the most spectacular battle scenes in motion picture history.

The gruesome reality of war is depicted with harrowing clarity as bullets rain down from the sky, decimating the incoming Allied troops on Omaha Beach. Captain Miller is shell-shocked and for a moment everything moves in slow motion. The beach is stained red with blood and wounded men are screaming for their mothers. There is no choice for these soldiers except to push through the blasted bodies and mangled gore of their fallen friends.

With incredible bravery and persistence, Captain Miller’s troops overtake the beach and reach safety, having lost thousands of men. The devastation is over-whelming and as the camera pans down, the audience sees a fallen soldier named Ryan. We then learn that three of the four Ryan boys have been killed in active duty and the last remaining brother is somewhere fighting in Normandy. Captain Miller is ordered to take a small battalion of men to locate and save Private Ryan.

As the rescue squad searches the French countryside, they continue to be met with deadly

opposition, further reinforcing the central theme of self-sacrifice. They are, after all, eight men risk-ing their lives for a stranger that may already have been killed.

In between the incredibly vio-lent and well-choreographed action sequences, the inspired dialogue offers the audience an introspec-tive look at each character and what drives them to complete their mission and return home. Through these powerful scenes, we come to understand that these men view themselves as much as brothers as Ryan and his fallen kin. Each in-dividual has a well-developed and complex character arc that makes this more than just a war movie.

There are no wasted scenes in this film, and the action comes to a climax with another brutal battle scene, where we see these men embrace true heroism by banding together in the face of certain death.

Spielberg and his cinematogra-pher, Janusz Kaminski, were both rightly awarded Oscars for their ar-tistic efforts, which further bolsters Saving Private Ryan’s claim to the Best Picture Award. Twenty years

later, this is considered one of the best movies ever made and yet the Academy will have us believe that Shakespeare In Love was the better picture that year.

Watch, or re-watch, both films. Saving Private Ryan will mesmer-ize your eyes and ears. You will laugh. You will cry. You may have to look away from some of the more graphic battle scenes. You will feel immersed in the story, as if you were there. Most impor-tantly, you will never forget it.

The only thing Shakespeare In Love will do is make you laugh. Just like the Academy’s decision to name it Best Picture.

ByRay

HunterStaff Writer

Ray’s Rave Review


Labels aside, we are all humanMy English professor’s worn-

out pair of Wranglers with the bottoms beginning to fray is far from the “typical” professor attire one might expect. Classroom after classroom, the image of pencil skirts, slacks, khakis, button-up shirts, and dress shoes seems to be the “norm.”

When you think professor, doctor, attorney, real estate agent, insurance agent, not to mention many other pro-fessions, you think of suits and ties. Such attire begins to become the expected way to dress or carry your-self. It is easy to compare it to a uniform. While uni-forms are required, society begins to make us believe our attire is an undeclared uniform.

We start to label and make assumptions based on how people dress or how that relates to their choice of profession. Gen-erally speaking, if you saw scrubs, you would assume medical field; if you saw an apron, you would assume chef or dishwasher; if you saw boots, an old shirt, and a ‘worn-out pair of Wranglers,’ you would assume farmer or factory worker. These assumptions lead to labels and judgment.

We often begin to form opinions on others we do not know based solely on their sense of style or their outfit choice. How would your judgment differ if you were unable to see how someone was dressed and had to base your opinion solely on their ability to perform their jobs?

In this day and time, it is easier than ever to be persuaded by society and the guidelines that have

been established on how we should live, dress, speak, or perform simple, everyday tasks. We look to others before we make a decision. We try to live up to a standard that makes us feel as though we are never enough. We belittle our-selves and change ourselves to feel accepted or welcomed. We slowly begin to lose sense of ourselves and turn into people who are suppos-

edly “right” or “perfect.”Intimidation causes

us to feel pressured to look a certain way. When your coworkers look professional and well put-together, it influences you to do the same. Whether we ac-cept it or not, our lives, in some aspects, are influenced by others.

My experience with my English professor brought a change to my thinking and opinion on others. A simple outfit choice made me realize,

what we wear or how we carry ourselves does not always define us. Under those scrubs or that suit is a parent, a writer, a cook, a sports fanatic, and a successful person who is much more important than the “uniform” they wear. Under the clothes or the makeup lives a person – an imperfect, unique, special person.

With this, I realize, we are all equal. Our profession, income, or level of intelligence does not make us better than anyone else. We are one in the same. The pair of worn-out Wranglers taught me that it is okay to be yourself and dress how you want or what makes you feel comfortable. It is okay to be different... to be human.

ByBrittanyShores

Guest Columnist

THE BRIDGE WANTS YOU!Are you a student, faculty or staff member

at any SCC campus or center?If so and you have any news, photos, or events

you would like published in the paper,e-mail the managing editor, at

[email protected]

The Bridge would love to share them.

Future Student Ambassadors neededSCC is now taking applications for the position of

Student Ambassador for the next academic year. To become an ambassador, students must: • have a GPA of 3.00. • be enrolled at SCC currently• have a genuine interest in serving others • have a positive attitude • have good interpersonal communication skills • have a diligent work ethic Student ambassadors are required to represent SCC,

project positivity, and make visitors and prospective students feel welcome on campus.

Student ambassadors are required to work vari-ous events for the college. Ambassadors will work 40 hours each semester in exchange for a 6-credit hour scholarship.

Students interested in serving as a student ambassa-dor should contact Melissa Winstead in Room 207 in the Harold Rogers Student Commons or email her at [email protected].

Thanks to you, our readers,The Bridge is a winner!

Your student newspaper, received 19 awards in the Kentucky Press Association’s 2018 Excellence in Kentucky Newspapers contest, including second place for General Excellence, on Jan. 26 in Lexington. The annual contest recognizes outstanding work by reporters, columnists, and photographers from the state’s professional and college newspapers.

Thanks to everyone who is interested in what is happening at Somerset Community College for reading our newspaper, watching our Facebook videos, and viewing our Instagram posts. We plan to continue bringing you quality news coverage that is for the students and by the students.


By Ray HunterPhi Theta Kappa will be hold-

ing an induction ceremony for new members at SCC on February 25 at 2 p.m.

Phi Theta Kappa is an interna-tional honors society that provides college students with various scholarships and other resources. Established in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honor soci-

ety in American higher education with more than 2.5 million mem-bers and 1,275 chapters located around the world. Omicron Zeta is the SCC Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa.

Membership is offered by invi-tation only to students who have earned a minimum GPA of 3.5 and have completed at least 12 hours of coursework for one semester.

Phi Theta Kappa to hold induction ceremonyfor new members Feb. 25

SCC’s Common Read commit-tee has announced the next book for the upcoming academic year. The Common Read will be 1984 by George Orwell.

Common Read chair Marci Ran-dall states that the book will spark lively conversations beginning this summer and continuing into the fall

and spring semesters. Recent political conversations

across the national and world news have some wondering if Orwell’s novel, written in 1949, still reso-nates across college campuses.

1984 is a dystopian novel about a totalitarian regime who rules by the suppression of the world.

Orwell’s ‘1984’ is selectedas next Common Read

By McKenzie MullinsSCC students are being invited

to compete in the Better Lives Video Contest through March 2.

If you are a current KCTCS student and enrolled in at least six credit hours, you are eligible to create a video explaining how your community college is giving you a better life.

The video must be 2-4 minutes long and must meet submission re-quirements of YouTube.

The first-place winner will win a $500 scholarship through the KCTCS foundation, a Dell laptop, and a $300 Dell gift card.

Other winners may receive iP-ads, gift cards, and more. One stu-dent will be chosen at random to receive a Dell laptop.

All winners will have their video shared through the KCTCS Scoop, college websites, and Facebook.

To enter a video, go to KCTCS.edu/video_contest.

KCTCS Better Lives Contest

SCC’s Valentine’s Day partypacks a punch (and more...)

Studentambassador,Haley Pence,

serving punch at SCC’s Valentine’s

Day party.

Dino Melgoza, President of the Multicultural Club, gave blood in the Hal Rogers Student Commons on Tuesday, February 6. The blood drive was presented by SGA and the Mul-ticultural Club.


Everybody’s somebody’s type

SAVING LIVES – SCC student Jonathon Dalton donated blood at the Spring Blood Drive. The process took about 45 minutes from start to finish and donors were offered juice and snacks to help with the side effects. All photos on this page by Ray Hunter

HARD HAT AREA —

Construction continues in

Meece Hall on the SCC

Campus.

DRIVE CAREFULLY — At the northern entrance to the Somerset Campus, stop signs at the inter-section of Monticello Street and Ford Drive were removed February 6 to allow traffic to flow more smoothly. Some drivers found the change to be confusing after being used to stopping at the former 3-way stop.

we are scc: somerset campus • laurel campus • casey center • … · dent will make a...

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